Dreamworks' Kung Fu Panda (Cert U) delivers exactly what we have come to expect from a big budget computer animated comedy - and more, perhaps.
Jack Black is Po, an armchair kung fu fan who seems destined to spend the rest of his life in his father's noodle purveying business until he is inexplicibly chosen to fulfill an ancient Shaolin prophecy and become the Dragon Warrior who will save his community from a power-hungry leopard (suavely voiced by Ian MacShane with an echo of Shere Khan from Jungle Book).
Of course we know what is going to happen because every cartoon feature has essentially the same story of the little guy learning how to believe in himself and defeat the odds.
Po is an engaging slapstick figure and the interaction with Dustin Hoffman's exasperated kung fu master Shifu provides plenty of chortles but the strength of Kung Fu Panda is visual. The usual garish colours and plasticky look of so many animations is given over to rich Oriental colours and shapes giving it an epic sweep. And there are some awesome action scenes shot from exciting angles.
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